Underwater • 2018 • episode "S1E1" • The Secret History of our Evolution

14:30

Lions may be known as the kings of the jungle, but it was saber-tooth cats that ruled over the Americas. New fossil evidence is shinning a light on the violent lives of these mysterious species.

Breakthrough • 2019 • Nature

46:23

From mountain zebras to shy and secretive caracals, Karoo National Park showcases a diversity of creatures who have adapted to demanding environmental conditions. Scale the varying altitudes of this nature reserve's vast landscape.

S1E4 • Great Parks of Africa • 2017 • Nature

48:45

The annual Serengeti wildebeest migration is a journey so fraught with peril, it's a wonder they set off at all. For wildlife expert Jean du Plessis, it's a unique chance to see how a new generation of calves, born just months ago, will fare among the predatorial lions and crocodiles that await them.

S1E2 • Nomads of the Serengeti • 2018 • Nature

58:54

Exploring the realm of the creatures to better understand how they have evolved. Travelling from the rain forests of French Guiana to the Arctic Ocean, scientists use traditional and cutting edge techniques to examine both modern insects and the fossil record in their search for a single common insect ancestor.

2024 • Nature

48:03

Nine miles off the coast of Oman, a zebra shark scans the ocean floor for crustaceans, while a menacing giant stingray floats by. Soon, night becomes day and new killers emerge, from toxic scorpion fish to crown-of-thorns starfish, both bringing coral devastation. Dive among these deadly marine carnivores.

S1E1 • Arabian Seas • 2018 • Nature

58:34

The second episode of Andrew Marr's exploration of Darwin explores the impact of Darwin’s ideas on society and politics. Darwin’s first port of call on the Beagle was Salvador in Brazil – then a major port for the international slave trade. His experience there confirmed his enlightenment views of liberty and progress and his hatred of slavery. But his theory of evolution that began to take root on that epic voyage would describe a world of conflict, ruthless competition and struggle. It would be taken up and abused by some of the most reactionary movements of the late-19th and 20th centuries. The phrase “survival of the fittest” would help propel Darwin’s theory as a scientific justification for eugenics, enforced sterilisation and genocide. But after the Second World War, Darwin’s theory finds redemption in the United Nations statement on race which confirms Darwin’s long-held view that all humans are members of the same race and deserving of equal treatment. This is further reinforced in the extraordinary work of a small Jewish community in New York who used DNA testing and a voluntary and anonymous form of selective breeding to eliminate a debilitating disease from the Jewish community. DNA testing is the final frontier of Darwin’s Dangerous idea. But the lessons from history suggest that the new choices we face about what to do with the knowledge Darwin has given us when combined with genetics and DNA testing remains a major social and political challenge.

S1E2 • Darwin's Dangerous Idea • 2009 • Nature